Mike Jordan

Hi The picture you are showing is similar to an arrangement that I have used in the past. The difference being that mine had three functions, twin bunks as shown, top bunk folded down to give a settee, and the bottom bunk telescoped out to make a double. In theory you can sleep three in the space but it was never put to the test, always being used as a double or two bunks. We didnt have three matresses since storage would have been a problem, two smaller back rests from the front cabins L shaped settee/double were intended for this use. Regards Mike

Hi Rob Your local chemist will sell you a half kilo of the crystals. I always leave it in the original box with the safety labeling because the crystals look just like sugar.

Hi Rob If the discoloured areas of the timber are sound to the touch, it should be possible to bleach away the black using a solution of oxalic acid crystals, these are available from your local chemists. Caution! oxalic acid is toxic and needs handing with care. I suggest you google oxalic acid and look at one of the sites explaining the methods of safe use and concentration required. On the rare occasions I stain timber I favour the use of spirit based stains which don't raise the grain of the timber like the water based ones. I think Its better to use a weak solution of stain on the grounds that you can go darker if needed but overdoing the colour may mean more sanding to get rid of it. My own preference is for natural wood without stain, thinning the first coat of exterior varnish (or yacht varnish) 50% with white spirit to allow it to soak into the timber, following up with two full strength coats of gloss varnish. The believe best type of glazing is 6.4mm thick laminated glass, this is safe, tough, and stays in place even if you are unfortunate enough to break it. Toughened glass is also safe but can't be cut to size while you wait and shatters into tiny bits if broken. Plastics materials are both easy to scratch and tend to yellow in time. Best of luck with the project. Mike Jordan

I have plenty of 12mm tapered sapelle plugs ( you need a 12mm hole preferably made with a forstner bit) Its much better to use a scrap piece of the sapelle from the job, they are much more likely to match in. PM me if you want to have some of the ready made ones. Mike.

Transform Sorry if my question sounded rather offensive, that wasn't my intention, you may be interested to find that some of the insurance companies take a rather strange view of working on other peoples boats. They seem to see it as a higher risk, why this is I have no idea. As a boater I think the cost of insuring boats is quite modest when you consider the risks and value at stake, Insuring a trades person to do work on boats has caused me problems in the past in spite of the fact Ive never made a claim of any kind. Best of luck with the venture. Mike.

Are you a qualified plumber, properly insured and experienced. Or is your total qualification/experience working on one boat?

Hi PM on the way giving details of a free CD with loads of pics and three different types of folding table. Normally the board is made and fitted before you send for the cover maker to take measurements.I will contact a past customer who based in cheshire who was recently singing the praises of a local cover maker. He may be a useful contact. Mike.

You are a long way from me but If you are able to measure the board following a set of instructions I may be able to help. Mike.

Thats a hell of a good memory! the ad I remember showed a chap cutting a joint of meat and said " not everyone can cut a perfect joint" and singing the praises of it as a gap filling glue. Aerolite is still available together with most other adhesives if you look in the right place. I use Adquick who do very good prices.No connection other than as a happy customer.

I use cascamite for every gluing job with the exeption of iroko and teak. The oily nature of these timbers will tend to cause the glue to fail. Some advocate wiping down the area to be glued with meths or other spirit to remove the oil but i'm not convinced that this is any kind of answer. I use epoxy resin as the best method of gluing the two timbers mentioned, but I have used polyurethane to test the makers claims that its suited to use on oily timbers. Since you already have it to hand I believe its your best bet. Mike.

Hi Sue I'm not quite sure if you are suggesting that the bottom two steps of the rear steps can be made to fold up to give more floor space. I have seen an idea which involves a raking ladder, used as access from the back deck, being hinged at the top to fold upwards to allow access to an inverter fitted behind the steps at floor level. I didn't think it was a great idea! I can see it being possible to make the bottom two steps fold up and rest against the upper part of the flight, but if you are seeking extra storage, it might be better to make them steeper or consider a set of storage steps with lifting treads. The lifting bottom steps idea wouldn't be difficult to do but they are not in common use so I don't have a set of plans. If you look in my photo gallery there is a set of storage steps. Mike.

I always suggest a top width of between 300mm & 350mm (12 to 14 inches) anything less than that seems to look mean and wrong to my eye. I also suggest a top plank 150mm (6") wide and fit it behind the top of the board rather than on top of it. This makes the cover drape nicely. I think its a mistake to make the top plank the same width as the top of the cratch board. I also prefer to see the cratch board fitted vertical when compared to the water line or leaning very slightly forward. Glazing beads will last longer and look better on the inside face out of the weather. Just to cover the final hobby horse- I always put one, or sometimes as many as three, grooves in the top face of the top plank to take the wiring for lights and horn. It beats that piece of plastic trunking or cable clips so often seen.

Hi Simon If you can get hold of a copy of the July 14 edition of WW there is an article on pages 82 & 83 showing a method of sealing in the engine noise for minimum cost. Its worked for me better than any other methods and only costs a few pounds. Mike.

You've already found the most competative supplier for quality hardwood trims, since you want to paint them why not look at the idea of making them ( or having them made) out of MDF?

As suggested its easier to remark on items that are not relevant or of importance and include a catch-all phrase about unseen areas. I can't see it being easy to be certain about the base plate without sight of it. I would be interested to know what sort of results and accuracy you would get from an ultrasonic device bearing in mind the presence of blue brick ballast. I assume that you will be using your own surveyor rather than one prefered by the broker or vendor?

The Mindon boats were made in Derbyshire and I have seen quite a few. They were constructed as wet bilge boats, all rainwater falling on the front deck drained through under the cabin area and into the rear bilge/ engine room to be pumped out at the rear. Its reasonable to expect that in an unmodified boat, this will have caused corrosion of the base plate from inside over 40 years. Its not an easy thing for the surveyor to check on but could be very important. Mike.

I have done quite a few quiet engine installations, when you have it right the effect is very pleasant, other boaters tend to be very keen to find out what engine you are using! I can recommend the article on pages 82/3 & 4 of the July edition of Waterways World, it explains one method which costs very little and works well. Written by a great bloke as well. Best of luck with the project. Mike.

As I understand it the name came from the type of very large and expensive silencers used to cut the exhaust noise from hospital emergency generators. the amount of power required to allow a hospital to continue to function during a power failure means a massive automatic starting diesel. The silencers are very good at keepimg the noise level to acceptable limits. I assume that the water traps are in a wet exhaust system, as you say a very efficient silencing method but not one in general use in narrowboats these days.

There is due to be an article in the next edition of WW which shows a very effective method of reducing the noise levels for minimum cost. Musicman - Before you splash out a hospital silencer, see if you can find anyone who has achieved a good result with one. Ive found them to be of little use, its not the exhaust note that makes the clatter but the engine in a tin box.

For quality at a sensible price, my vote goes to Colecraft. Mike.